The Texas Public Utility Commission should grant eligible telecom carrier (ETC) status to Dish Wireless, staff recommended Wednesday in docket 54475. In an amended application Monday, Dish said it received ETC designation in Colorado, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Vermont. California authorized it to provide state LifeLine service, it said. Also, Dish has a pending application at the FCC for states that rely on the federal agency to decide ETC designations. States that don’t certify wireless carriers include Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire and North Carolina. Dish previously amended its application Aug. 30 (see 2308310025)

Utah could nearly double its connections-based USF surcharge to 71 cents from 36 cents per access line monthly, effective Dec. 29. The Utah Public Service Commission distributed the proposal Wednesday. “The increase in the surcharge is necessary to ensure the [Utah USF] can meet statutory obligations while remaining within policy norms,” said the PSC. Chair Thad LeVar said the increase will ensure the fund has sufficient balance to pay three months of disbursements without incurring a deficit and that telecom carriers have predictable funding for networks. The PSC sought comments by Dec. 15 (docket 23-R008-01). Utah switched to a connections-based contribution mechanism in 2018.

A Pennsylvania Senate panel unanimously supported a kids’ social media bill while removing the original proposal’s private right of action. At a livestreamed hearing Tuesday, the Communications Committee voted by voice on a bipartisan basis for SB-22, which would amend the state’s mental health statute to add rules for minors on social platforms, with penalties for violations. It would require parental consent for anyone under 16 to open a social media account and prohibit data mining for any user under 18. Legislators crafted an amendment after months of negotiations with tech companies, said Vice Chair Kristin Phillips-Hill (R), the bill’s co-sponsor. It replaces a private right of action with exclusive enforcement by the state attorney general, revises the definition of a social media platform, elaborates on social media companies duties for age verification and tweaks the bill’s data mining section, she said. The bill doesn’t apply to e-commerce companies, said the vice chair, responding to a question by Sen. Frank Farry (R). “The data shows that far too many minors are struggling with mental health and that social media is a contributing factor,” said Phillips-Hill. The Computer and Communications Industry Association opposed the bill before the amendment, including because of the private right of action. CCIA declined to say Tuesday if the amendment addressed its concerns.

Kansas launched a $200 million fund using federal cash from the bipartisan infrastructure law (BIL), Gov. Laura Kelly (D) said Tuesday. The Build Kansas Fund will provide matching funds to local governments for broadband and cybersecurity in addition to water, energy and transportation governor’s office said. Eligible entities include state agencies, counties, municipalities, special districts, community organizations, nonprofits and federally recognized tribes that apply for a federal BIL program requiring a nonfederal match, it said.

The Kentucky Public Service Commission will more than double the state USF surcharge for the state Lifeline program to 15 cents per access line due to increased demand on the fund, said a 3-0 order Tuesday in case 2016-00059. The PSC set the rate at 15 cents in 2021, up from 7 cents in 2019, but then decreased it to 6 cents in 2022.

Minnesota commissioners won’t consider LTD Broadband at Thursday’s meeting, said a revised agenda dated Monday. It was pulled for personal reasons and hasn't been rescheduled, a Minnesota Public Utilities Commission spokesperson emailed Tuesday. Commissioner John Tuma's father died last week, said a death notice. The Minnesota PUC had planned to vote in docket 22-221 on whether to resume proceedings on revoking LTD Broadband’s eligible telecom carrier (ETC) designation and whether to grant Minnesota Telecom Association and the Minnesota Rural Electric Association’s motion to suspend LTD’s ETC designation in the meantime (see 2309080021).

Tech companies might sue if Pennsylvania enacts a social media moderation bill (SB-22), the Computer and Communications Industry Association warned Monday. The state’s Senate Communications Committee plans to weigh the bill Tuesday. “CCIA recommends pausing this proposal until legislators can act with fuller knowledge of the constitutional boundaries,” the association wrote to the committee. “Otherwise, any potential statute may be at greater risk of protracted, expensive litigation.” Digital companies already aggressively moderate dangerous and illegal content, CCIA said. The bill’s overly vague definitions make compliance tough, it said. Websites might have to shut down services for users under 16, restricting children’s First Amendment right to access information, CCIA said. Also, a private right of action proposed in the bill would lead to many “frivolous lawsuits,” it said. Plus, the bill doesn’t provide enough time for businesses to come into compliance, said CCIA, suggesting legislators push back the effective date until 18 months after enactment.

Vermont expects “very few projects” won’t be able to deploy reliable broadband for average costs below the extremely high costs per location threshold, the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCCB) said in volume two of its draft initial proposal. The board on Monday sought comments by Oct. 15 on the proposal required for NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. What few projects have costs exceeding the threshold “will likely be projects focused on serving off-grid locations,” the VCCB said. “Should this circumstance arise, the VCBB will first consult with the prospective subgrantee to determine whether there might be changes or alternatives to the requirements for participation that could reduce costs to a point where the provider’s proposal is below the” threshold, it said. “The VCBB will consult with the local community that would be served by the provider to determine whether the less costly technology is viable to meet their needs or if other technologies may better serve the particular area.” NTIA allocated $229 million for BEAD.

The California Public Utilities Commission gave extensions Friday to several telecom companies seeking more time to provide pole attachment data to pole owners, as required by a 2021 CPUC decision (see 2308170022). CPUC Executive Director Rachel Peterson sent letters granting six-month extensions of various deadlines to Charter Communications, Comcast, Consolidated Communications, Cox, ExteNet, Sonic Telecom, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless. Peterson denied requests for different lengths of time requested by some of those companies. For those companies, the data is now due Feb. 29 to Pacific Gas & Electric, April 9 to AT&T and Frontier Communications and April 12 to Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). Also, the executive director granted a shorter Crown Castle request to submit data to AT&T, Frontier, SCE and SDG&E by Dec. 12 this year (docket I.17-06-027).

The California legislature passed broadband mapping, privacy and right-to-repair bills Wednesday. The Assembly voted 74-0 to concur with Senate changes to AB-286 on adjusting state broadband mapping requirements. And it voted 65-12 to concur with the Senate on AB-1194, which would say businesses aren’t required to comply with government requests for emergency access to personal information on abortion and contraception. The Senate voted 39-0 to concur with the Assembly on SB-244 to give consumers a right to repair electronics. The Assembly advanced two other bills to the Senate for concurrence. Members voted 52-14 for SB-362 to allow consumers to delete data collected on them by brokers and 80-0 for SB-387, an industry-backed bill to let the state lease public land at submarket rates for broadband deployment.